Percy Jackson and the Hunters of Artemis
by dumbothedumbo
Summary: Percy Jackson goes into the Underworld on a task to aid Hades after the Titan Kronos' spectacular defeat. Along the way, however, he meets a friend he never expected to see again... This then lands him through a series of adventures with the Hunters of Artemis. Note: NO Percabeth whatsoever.
1. Gifts From the Gods

I apologize for the stereotypical beginning where Annabeth in is cheating on him, this is one of my futile attempts at writing fanfiction. Note that this won't appear until about 3 chapters in.

Sorry about the chapter posted twice, and the confusing pairing. This is a Percy/Artemis/Zoe fanfic. I republished this, but then took it down because it was just too bad. I am now in the process of rewriting it.

OH and a healthy THANKS to Annabelle for editing my rather poor writing. She has also edited my later chapters. Very grateful. Anyways, ONWARDS.

-dumbothedumbo

Mount Olympus (New York)

Percy Jackson knelt before all twelve Olympians, waiting judgment for his fate. Zeus calmly said, "I believe that Perseus Jackson, without whom we would probably be in a rather uncomfortable position. I myself shall reward Percy with mercy, and tolerating his existence. Would anyone else like to bless Percy Jackson, before I continue with my announcement and grant him a quest?"

Percy internally grumbled at the thought of having to go on another quest. _Haven't I done enough already for Olympus? Will I ever get some peace and just sit back and relax?_

Percy dared to speak up. "Before we begin, I would like to state my demands. Firstly, I would like Hades and Hestia both to have thrones on the Olympian Council. Also, I would like Calypso and Leto to be freed from their respective prisons. I believe that Leto has been punished plenty for her crimes and has done nothing more evil than practically all the gods, and Calypso has committed no crimes other than existing as the daughter of a Titan."

Zeus furrowed his brow, replying, "You ask for much boy, and while I. . . dislike the idea of Hades competing for power, I shall acquiesce." With that, Zeus clapped his hands, and instantly, the original Olympian's thrones moved out of the way for the two new thrones. One of them was black obsidian, embedded with gold gems, and radiated an aura of fear. This was clearly Hades' throne. It moved on the other side of Zeus's throne. The other one, was a rather plain marble throne with carvings of a variety of homemade foods, with a warm glow emanating that made Percy feel comforted.

Hestia looked at him gratefully, and then said, "I would like to bless Percy in light of his service to Olympus. I shall give him control of my giving him the power to summon any home-cooked meal, and give him some control of fire. I would also allow him to feel other's emotions when he wants to, but not exactly what they are thinking about."

Hades spoke up in the silence that followed after Hestia's blessing, "I will give him 3 pounds of golden drachmas, and also 1000 denarii, and also my thanks and the permission to travel in and out of the Underworld whenever."

Artemis surprisingly, announced "I shall give him a crude means to communicate with all animals. I will also give him a silver hunting knife to show my thanks for saving Olympus."

Apollo frowned at the thought of having any male other than himself talk to Artemis for fear of further degrading the reputation the male half of the population already has with his twin sister. _Percy's pretty honorable, he wouldn't make a move on Artemis, would he?_

He was disturbed from his musings by Aphrodite squealing, "Oh, Oh I simply must give you my blessing!" There was a puff of pink smoke, and Percy emerged coughing. His actual physique didn't change, but in Percy's mind, he now had much more knowledge than he wished for.

Poseidon growled, "What exactly did you do to him?"

Aphrodite cheerfully replied, "Oh, nothing that you would care about, just gave him some knowledge and a few suggestions on how to further his relationship with Annabeth."

Poseidon was bemused, "Oh. I would like to give Percy my blessing as well. I shall merely increase his control over water and make him tire less easily."The room was silent for about thirty seconds before Zeus attempted to rouse the gods who were still attempting to fathom exactly what knowledge Aphrodite had given Percy

"If that is all, I shall discuss the quest for Percy."

Apollo, who had by now settled his faith that Percy could be trusted, spoke up "I would also like to give Percy my blessing, which will be that he can shoot somewhat straight. You'll still have to invest the effort of practice though." Percy glowed golden for a moment, but then Zeus looked expectantly around the room.

"No? Then I shall continue. Percy must go to the Underworld after the meeting to handle some disturbances inside Tartarus. He will be only dealing with the entrance, and not the depts. It would be much favored to keep the bridge between the Underworld and Tartarus clean and under our control."

Percy was more than slightly surprised at the number of blessings that he had received, but decided not to question it. After all, why would anyone question free stuff, especially when it was so useful? He thanked the gods, and then bowed, taking his leave to prepare for the trip into the Underworld.

Next up, Percy goes to Tartarus.


	2. Quest to the Underworld

Thank you to all of those who reviewed! All reviews are much appreciated, and I will work on including all of your suggestions into my story after the third chapter, as the first three chapters are all already written. i'll try to post chapters in intervals so I can actually keep up, though I kinda doubt that I'll be able to maintain a really fast update rate that I'll set for myself. But enough of me. On with the story! - dumbothedumbo

Quest to the Underworld

Percy shouldered his backpack full of the necessities, the usual nectar and ambrosia as well as the silver hunting knife Artemis gave him. _Might be useful_ , he thought before taking a deep breath and stepping into the DOA recording studios. Charon looked up as soon as he walked in.

"Hello Percy, Hades is expecting you." Charon greeted more warmly than usual as he stepped out from behind the counter.

"I see that Hades actually did give you a pay raise," commented Percy with a slight chuckle, gesturing to his new Italian suit.

"Yes indeed, and I feel that I deserved it." As they walked into the elevator, they fell silent.

"Free ride for everyone!" shouted Charon in an uncharacteristic act of generosity.

The spirits rushed to the elevator. As they got on, Percy could feel the hopelessness and despair emanating from the river Styx even from the lobby. Just like Percy's first trip to the Underworld, it was polluted, except this time, the air felt sickly.

The feeling of depression was literally palpable in the air. Percy felt the sudden urge to infuse the river with hope. It was an act on impulse, but he thought of all his hopes and dreams of his future, and let that tendril of thought flow towards the river. A strange wind blew, and all the pollution seemed to fade away. The Styx turned back into a majestic teal, instead of the depressed black of oil.

"Amazing," whispered Charon, "You humans have been polluting the river for millennia, and the river has been getting worse and worse the more spirits that come through, yet you come in, and cleanse the river of literally of eons of pollution."

"I don't know, it just sort of … well happened. I just had this impulse, and I followed it through." replied Percy.

"Well, this impulse saved me from fading." said a voice from behind him.

They both whirled around to face this voice to see a sixteen-year-old girl standing there.

"Who are you?" inquired Percy.

"I am the river spirit of the Styx, and you have my thanks for cleansing my river." answered the spirit.

"You're…welcome." replied Percy.

"To show my gratefulness, I would like to give you back your blessing that you lost during your trip through the Tiber River." Styx continued, "You will feel a slight ticklish sensation on your chosen weak spot, but no pain this time."

She put her hands on his shoulders with her eyes closed, and true to her words, Percy felt no pain.

 _Now, think of where you want your weak point to be._ she spoke into his mind.

Percy thought of his upper back, just to the left of his back. As he did so, he did indeed feel a ticklish feeling on that spot, which faded soon after she opened her eyes and took her hands off his shoulders.

"It is done." she finished. "Thank you once more.", before disappearing.

Charon muttered, "Amazing. It is rare she gives her blessing twice. In fact, she's never done it before."

Percy replied, "Well, there is always a first."

They soon reached the dock, and while the spirits headed straight for the judging tables, Charon led Percy down a side path and pointed through two black gates. In the far distance, you could see a black palace, and even from here Percy could see tiny figures moving about.

"Just continue through those gates, the guards will let you through as Hades has already informed them, and head towards the palace. There, just go through the main hallway and you'll find the throne room."

Percy entered the gates without any problems, and was soon kneeling before Hades.

"Rise, Perseus." said Hades.

"Why have you brought me here?" inquired Percy.

"I have a favor to ask of you. As you have already been informed of, there are some problems at the entrance to Tartarus. it is a newly formed one, one I found only a few weeks ago. It is heavily guarded and patrolled, of course, but I'd rather not lose too many men attempting to enter at once. I think in this case, subtlety will be the better course of action, and one lone demigod shouldn't cause too much trouble. In any case, the problem is as I ordered my men to seal it, something or someone is killing my workers. I could do it personally, but that wouldn't hold up to the entirety of Tartarus. So I need you to go take care of the creature. Then, I'll seal up the entrance. By the way, I hear you cleansed the Styx. You have my thanks for that, as she has been growing more and more sickly. I shall have you properly rewarded after your (hopeful) return." replied Hades.

"Alright. Do I get any advice on where to go?" asked Percy.

"Just head south and you'll see it."

Percy did as he was told and after a fifteen-minute walk, arrived. he witnessed a huge wall being built. The entrance looked as if someone tore a hole in the Underworld, as the edges were all jagged, and just radiated unfriendliness and fear. Percy continued pass the patrols and found himself in a black forest. Percy shivered, and continued through. He heard a low growl and uncapped Riptide.

He saw a group of hellhounds behind him with their beady red eyes. He let out a sigh of relief. Percy charged forward and into the group, but even though they scratched him, they did no damage. He quickly dispatched them, leaving several small piles of golden dust. His shirt was torn up a bit, but that was all.

Percy soon exited the woods and saw a group of Cyclopes guarding a doorway into a mountain. Percy stealthily crept towards them, and slew 3 of them before they could do much more than have their eyes widen. Quickly killing the rest, he went through the doorway. The sight that greeted him was shocking. He saw Zoe Nightshade chained to the wall knocked unconscious. He sensed rather than saw the club that was hurtling swiftly through the air at his head. He ducked and threw his hunting knife in the direction that the club came from. He was rewarded by a low groan as he whirled around to see more Cyclopes armed with swords and clubs standing in the back of the room. Percy uncapped Riptide and waited for the Cyclopes to approach. The stupidest of them all, promptly charged at Percy, and Percy sidestepped and brought Riptide down onto his back, and he dissolved into golden dust, a look of agony on his face. The others now regarded him warily, and they all charged at once. He spun in a circle, and they too dissolved into dust. He ran towards Zoe, who hung limply, with her neck hanging downwards. Percy shook her a few times, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Percy?" she asked, believing herself to be delirious and very surprised that her mind's first instinct was to dream of Percy.

"Yeah, it's me. You're not delirious, you're alive, and chained to a wall in Tartarus." replied Percy.

"WHAT? Oh, yeah. Can you get me some of that nectar before I explain how I got here?" she inquired, suddenly realizing that her throat was parched, and her voice raspy.

"Sure, but drink slowly." he answered. When he handed her the ambrosia and nectar, she gulped down the cup, and licked her lips before continuing.

"After Artemis put me in the constellations, Ouranos, who actually is conscious, let me roam the Earth as a spirit, but no one could see me except for that accursed Zeus. He saw me and was furious, and immediately assumed that I was spying on the Gods, relaying information to the Titans, despite the fact that Ouranos told him about me, and specifically made it so that only Gods can sense me. He turned me into me solid form and threw me into Tartarus, but to make my life worse, he put me under a paralytic spell so I couldn't resist, but I was fully conscious when they chained me, and I was waiting to see their master, but in the meantime, they beat me until I was actually unconscious. Then you came in, and, well, you know the rest." she said bitterly when she mentioned Zeus. Just as she finished, they heard a low growl, and Percy turned around once more, his eyes widening in shock as he stood protectively in front of Zoe.

Author's note: Next chapter should be about the fight with the monster, (care to guess?) and the meeting of Artemis. To reiterate, this is a Percy/Zoe/Artemis fanfic. In the 3rd chapter, Percy will break up with Annabeth, and the romance can begin. This fanfic will escalate their relationship slowly, so don't expect much during the first few chapters.

-dumbothedumbo


	3. Annabeth and the Hunt

Zoe gasped in recognition, but Percy merely sighed. Before them stood the Minotaur, which allowed Percy to mutter under his breath, "How many times must I chop up this piece of beef before it learns not to bother me?"

Getting over his little mutter of annoyance, he crouched down into a ready position, while Zoe could only watch helplessly because her bow was across the room, behind the Minotaur.

Percy sensed this and yelled to her, never taking his eyes off the Minotaur as it prepared to charge.

"In my backpack, there's a pair of hunting knives, but don't bother helping me, guard the door!"

Whatever else might have been said was omitted due to the charging bull in front of him, which he neatly sidestepped and ducked under the Minotaur's arm, and then stabbed it in the back, reducing him into a pile of golden dust. All this occurred in a matter of less than ten seconds.

Zoe had no time to congratulate Percy on his quick kill for no sooner than she retrieved the knives and strode to the door did a hellhound come barreling in, nearly knocking her down before a quick thrust from the knife slayed it.

A whole group barged in after it, but Zoe and Percy were able to deal with it relatively easily. Zoe was exhausted, clearly not in her top fighting condition after the long period of abuse.

Of course, it was at that moment when Percy found himself entranced by her. Her long creamy white legs, her slender waist…

Percy quickly shook himself from that train of thought, _Perseus Jackson; you really need to calm those thoughts. Do you want to get promptly murdered by Zoe and then by Artemis if she ever finds out?_

 _No,_ his rather hormonal side replied, _But surely you can appreciate her beauty, I mean, now is the MOMENT! She's tired, cut all over, and somewhat terrified, no matter how much she doesn't want to show it. She needs some comfort. Provide it._

 _And I'm the one to provide it? Not me, I'd much rather maintain my status of… living, thank you very much. There is literally no way for me to attract her, and I certainly won't force myself upon her. I mean she's a Huntress of Artemis!_

 _Former Huntress you mean…._

Percy had no retort, and decided to just ignore the inner voice. Determined to not let his weakening resolve of not looking at Zoe fail, he forced his thoughts elsewhere, such as a plan to get out.

"Percy, we need to leave now." said Zoe.

Percy gulped as he tried to rearrange his thoughts.

"Yeah."

Giving him a questioning look at his briefness, but shrugging it off as post-battle nervousness, she continued.

"There's a massive squadron of at least a thousand monsters coming, so I hope that they aren't blocking the way you came here from."

Grateful for the distraction from his less than decent thoughts, he glanced out the door.

"Shit! It seems Hades was right in mentioning a disturbance from Tartarus. No, they aren't. We'll have to hurry though." Percy said, after a moment of observation.

"Alright then, just let get my bow."

They snuck quietly out the door and were already halfway back to where Hades was looking for Percy before the monsters noticed them and began to charge towards them. Percy and Zoe sprinted back, and while they both made it back safely, Zoe was more winded than she should've been after a short sprint.

They then relayed the information Hades, who promptly summoned his army to deal with the monsters.

"And who's this? Ah, yes I recall. She came here very briefly before Artemis sent her into the stars. How'd you get here? Never mind, just go to Olympus to tell them what happened. I'll get the story from Hermes when he comes. And as for your reward, as a thanks for saving the river Styx and a job done, here you go." Hades handed Percy a black Visa credit card with a skull upon it. "This has most all of the currency that a half-blood would need for a good long time, or to be more precise, 100,000 dollars. Enjoy." His face turned more sober. "There's something else too… Annabeth. I'm sorry."

Hades flashed them away to Camp Half-Blood before Percy could ask about the cryptic message he had said at the end, while he went to deal with the monsters, the very thing he had hoped to avoid.

Percy eyed the credit card, and put it in his pocket, and strangely, Hades had missed and dumped them in the woods, a mile from camp.

They looked at each other shrugged, and began the walk back to camp.

Percy and Zoe were both lost in their own thoughts as they trudged back towards camp. Percy was thinking about Zoe, or trying not to, and the message from Hades. Zoe on the other hand was thinking about Artemis and about how much she missed the Hunt, and if she would be sent back into the stars or allowed to remain on Earth. She sincerely hoped that she would be allowed to remain alive.

They remained in their thoughts until they were interrupted by the distinct sound of Annabeth's voice.

"I love you, Eric."

"I love you too, but what about that Percy fellow? Won't he be mad?" inquired this Eric person.

"I really don't care. I just want to be with you," replied Annabeth.

Percy and Zoe were then greeted by a not so appreciated view of Annabeth kissing Eric into oblivion. Eric and Annabeth then proceeded to engage in some… _activities._

Percy stormed off, somehow not alerting Annabeth and Eric due to their attention upon other matters. Zoe followed him and called out.

"Wait!"

Percy paid her no attention and was engrossed in his anger. _Why the hell do all of these terrible things happen to me? I'm just one half-blood who has suffered basically my entire life except for Annabeth and my Mom. Now they take away Annabeth. What have I done to you, Fates?_

His thoughts were abruptly ended as he found himself facing a literal wall of nocked arrows in a small clearing.

Zoe noticed this too and stopped short just behind him. Before she could say anything, she was greeted by a familiar voice.

"Is that you, Zoe?"

Author's Notes:

Yeah, I was just too lazy to finish this scene and just decided to publish it now here. I've been rather distracted from this fanfic by another pairing, Harry/Fleur, and am currently working on an initial chapter for that so expect less-than-frequent updates. Maybe like once every two weeks like this.

-Dumbothedumbo


	4. Percy's Anger

Sorry about the weird update issue that didn't actually change anything. I intended to submit a new chapter, but it didn't actually change and submit it, but still marked the story as updated. Now, however, I've actually fully posted the 4th chapter, and i think it's working now. Sorry for the 2 hours of disappointment.

At Artemis' words, the entire group of hunters suddenly wavered, and nearly dropped their bows, but in the end still kept it level at Percy's face. Artemis stepped forwards past Percy, who knew that if he so much as twitched, he would be shot full of arrows, so he kept still, but wanted to see the happy reunion occurring before him.

Zoe looked and saw Artemis, and rushed forwards to embrace her, and Artemis quite literally cried as she realized that her best friend was alive and healthy. But of course, this begged the question, how?

After the initial shock, many of the older hunters all rushed forward to hug Zoe, and welcome her back into the Hunt, and once Artemis got over her shock she asked, "But how? And why is Percy with you?" she frowned, "Don't tell me that my former lieutenant has been charmed by a male as soon as she was released from the hunt."

Zoe flushed, and managed to stutter out, "O-Of course not! You know I would never give up my ch-ch-chastity that easily."

Artemis smiled, and continued to lightly tease her lieutenant, "Oh? Why the stuttering then? And why the red face?"

Zoe was too embarrassed to formulate a response, and after a few attempts instead decided to hastily switch topics. "W-Well, the way I got here was through Percy's help…" And Artemis and the rest of the hunt listened intently, looking at Percy in a new light once she specifically said that he had gone lengths to preserve her modesty. But once she got to a more recent part of the story, she faltered, and quickly glanced at Percy.

"…And once Hades teleported us out with that cryptic message in mind, we saw A-Annabeth…." She trailed off and her heart reached out towards Percy as she saw the pain clear in his eyes, even as it slowly turned to rage, and the Hunters, who had by now put down their bows when realizing he wasn't a threat, watched as he slowly walked away towards the camp.

Artemis noticed the odd behavior, and still pressed further, but in a soft voice, "And what exactly was she doing?" Artemis knew that whatever had happened must've been very serious, as she and the rest of the Hunt could see the obvious pain in his eyes, but also a cold anger that chilled her to the bone.

Zoe took in a deep breath, and turned too somber to even blush as she said it. "She was h-having s-sex with someone else. Eric or something like that."

The Hunt gasped. It was one thing for a guy to cheat on a girl in such a scandalous fashion (They're males after all) but for a girl? Not just any girl, but one who had received such love and devotion from Percy that he would even fall into Tartarus for her? That was beyond incomprehensible. Artemis thought through this, and had deemed Percy one of the few decent males still around on this planet, and even by the harshest standards, Annabeth could've at least kindly rejected him, rather than simply cheating behind his back.

The more Artemis thought about it, the angrier she grew, but her anger was quelled by the thought of what Percy was going through, and decided to investigate how he felt, and whether she could help in any way, or at least offer him her sympathy.

Percy on the other hand, had returned to camp, and left for the forest to bemoan his cheating girlfriend in silence. Once more, however, his sadness gave way to anger, and instead of sobbing, Percy bitterly wiped away the tears that were beginning to form, and then unleashed his powers, and summoned as much water as he could from 60 feet below the ground. Water literally flew out of the ground as it obeyed his summoned. Having his water source ready, Percy then proceeded to exercise his powers as much as he could, hoping that the exhaustion would wipe away his pain.

He channeled his feelings into the water, and it became rigid. It was highly pressurized water kept under pressure only by his control, and with this water forming an armor around him did he charge forwards without caring if he was running into trees as the pressured water would practically melt his way through any of the obstacles that the forest presented.

He moved faster by actually elevating himself within the water, and then sending the water flying faster, with himself inside it. He quite literally carved a path through the forest, only getting faster and faster until he was merely a blur as he emerged from the tree line, leaving a perfectly spherical path from where he had emerged.

Having arrived at his destination, the beach, he then continued to hone his skills, forming all sorts of shapes and sizes, as he was determined to train until he fell into blissful unconsciousness and forgot about the pain. He learned to control several bodies of water at once, sending boulders, arrows, and pebbles of water flying all around him, all hitting the created water dummies with accuracy, and utterly decimating them.

Zoe watched him in awe, as he recreated the army, and the projectiles, each time inserting more troops, and more projectiles to stop them. However, she took one glance at Percy, and realized what he was doing.

"Percy, stop!" she shouted, "You'll kill yourself!" as she rushed over, but slowed once she got closer to the many projectiles flying about.

Percy glanced at Zoe, and smiled, and the waves of artillery stopped, and the targets collapsed, leaving a very wet beach behind. Then he fell to the sand as well.

Zoe rushed over to him, and found herself kneeling down beside his head, as his chest heaved with exhaustion, clearly on the verge of unconsciousness.

"What are you doing?!" she asked, in a rather foul temper.

Percy's face darkened, but continued to breath heavily. "Training." He said with a slight smirk, or at least the best he could give given his current state.

Zoe would've slapped him, if not for his weak state. She instead sighed, and in a quiet voice said, "Annabeth… isn't worth killing yourself over. The hero of Olympus shouldn't throw his life away so easily."

Percy's eyes, which were beginning to droop, snapped open at the mention of that bitch's name. "I lived for Annabeth. In the river Styx, I only anchored myself to the world because of her, and now— "

"You give up on the rest of us? You may have lived for Annabeth, but there are always other things you can grow to live for." She said, getting angrier by the second.

"I have nothing to live for. I don't even care enough for myself to live for myself." He said, insistent in his despair.

"Well, what about the rest of us? Even if you don't care for yourself, I, and many others, do. You're a hero. Killing yourself would only make the world a worse place." She said, desperate now to keep him here.

Percy was silent for a few moments. Then he looked up at Zoe, and said simply "Thank you for that."

Zoe blushed slightly at his statement, and gave him a light hug, then asked, "So you aren't going to commit suicide any second now?"

Percy, slightly surprised, had been brought out of his depression, and teased, "If it gives me more hugs, I might pretend to," smirking as he said so.

Zoe turned redder than she thought possible, and slapped him lightly out of respect for his wounds. "PERCY!" she yelled.

Artemis strolled out of the woods, and said, "Oh, my. Now what is going on here?" she asked in a dangerously calm voice. After she realized that Percy was no longer angry, she decided not to mention or ask about how he was in a better mood, as the reason was clearly kneeling next to him.

Percy looked at Zoe pleadingly, and then said nervously, "N-Nothing at all!"

Zoe remained silent, and raised an eyebrow.

Artemis sighed, "Well then Zoe, if you decide not to complain, I trust your judgement. If I hear that you've lost your virginity, then that's your fault. I should hope that a few thousand years in the Hunt taught you some restraint."

Zoe blushed further, and said in a small voice. "Well, he was flirting…."

Percy, strength returning slowly, immediately begged Artemis for forgiveness. "D-Don't castrate me! She's not even in the Hunt anymore!"

Artemis tried and failed to contain a giggle. "Don't worry, Percy. You're a decent guy. I won't castrate you." She then turned quite serious, and added, "Still, that doesn't give you the right to flirt with any of my hunters, just to be clear."

Percy sighed in relief, and said, "Of course I won't. I'm not the type of person who chases after girls who are off-limits."

Artemis replied, "You're cutting it a bit close though, aren't you? Flirting with a _former_ hunter? That's some thin grounds, considering that I never _technically_ released her…."

They were then interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the Hunt who were searching for their leader, and the newly returned Zoe.

"Ah, so that's where you guys were." Remarked Phoebe.

Having been interrupted, Artemis decided to cut their discussion short, and said, "Let's get back to our camp for the day. Percy, you can head on back to Olympus after the night, seeing as its rather late to make your way over there now. Just don't try anything with my hunters, otherwise there will be consequences."

The hunters nodded, and only a few looked particularly annoyed by the fact that a male would be staying relatively close by, seeing as it was Percy, a rather decent, and moral guy. Seeing that a male staying in their camp was relatively tolerated, they started on their way back to the Hunters' camp.

Thank you for all of your Reviews! They're what keep me motivated to keep on writing! I know this chapter seems rather incomplete, but I was in a hurry to get this posted. Though, testing is coming up, so you should probably expect slower updates, and because I've run out of prewritten material.

-dumbothedumbo


	5. A Night with the Hunt

It was a rather quiet trip back to the camp, and once they arrived, Artemis showed him to an untaken spot in the camp, and waved her hand in the air, and summoned a packed tent bundle, for him to set up.

Percy mentally groaned, but didn't complain (aloud) or silently curse at the retreating form of Artemis, who had merely offered an explanation of "You need something to do, and males with too much time on their hands never do anything good."

So, he got to work on pitching his tent, which indeed, did take him quite a long time. He finished just as the dinner horn was blown, allowing him to go to dinner with quite an amount of sweat on his back, though the other hunters seemed to be in a similar state as it was rather hot, and it appeared that they had been practicing their archery due to the pincushioned targets in the clearing to his right.

And then, there was the hardest thing all day. Choosing where to sit at a table of girls who are all practically allergic to guys, and are sworn virgins. _Talk about forbidden fruit._ He moaned mentally.

In the end, he ended up sitting between two random, and highly hostile girls (he had wanted to sit next to Zoe, but because she had just come back from the dead and all, the other girls got there first, and it would be really, really awkward for Percy to simply just push through the crowd of girls, most likely offending at least one by accidentally, yes, legitimately an accident, bumping them where they don't want to be bumped).

But in any case, he wound up sitting next to basically no one (they had scooted quite far from him) and ate a rather lonely dinner for the first ten minutes.

Percy wolfed down his food, growing rather uncomfortable under the glare of several hunters, and simply wanted to leave as fast as possible, but to his misfortune (or fortune?) the other non-hunter in the group came up to him.

"You sure like you're having a lot of fun over here. Come sit over here." Zoe said, indicating a seat next to her.

"Um…are you really sure you want me to do that? I'm fine. And besides, I'm not sure how saf-I mean-welcome I'd be over there…." Percy replied rather nervously. At least one or two pairs of eyes were on Zoe, regarding her with a degree of shock.

"You were about to say safe, weren't you? Hmmph. Come onnn, the Hunters won't hurt you if you don't try anything, and you usually don't try- Actually, let me take that back, you did try something this afternoon," glaring as she thought of Percy's comment to her.

"Will you ever let that go? It was just one small statement." Percy groaned, dearly regretting trying to say something like that.

"Well, you know the rest of the hunt won't be so lenient. I'm just warning you." Zoe said.

"Point noted." Percy said, ending the conversation and heading to sit next to her.

"Wow, Zoe's so nice to you. Just letting you know, but before she would've promptly castrated and then slain you if you tried anything," Phoebe remarked.

"Yeah, knowing what she was like before? I never would've done anything like that." Percy said.

The group continued to make small talk, although it was a bit less lively than it had been before Percy came. It did gradually improve, and the conversations returned, most keeping an eye on Percy to make sure he behaved well.

Percy enjoyed the rest of dinner, talking with the Hunt, although most of the conversations were with Zoe. The others were a bit less friendly, and the conversations rather cordial, if brief.

Artemis stood from her seat at the head of the table and clapped her hands to call everyone's attention. "All right, well I do believe it is about time for bed, so Good night! Oh and Percy, restrain any obscene habits of yours for this one night, for your own sake."

Percy, a bit put on the spot rushed quickly to deny it, "Wait, what obscene habits? I don't have any!"

"Are you sure? I suppose I'll take your word for it. Anyways, I want a peaceful night of sleep, one that does not involve being forced to save you from being slaughtered by some of my more vigilant hunters. Good night." Artemis said, her skepticism leaking into her voice before she left for her tent.

The other hunters took this as a cue to go to bed and immediately began finishing up their dinners and clearing away the plates. Zoe said a polite "Good night, Percy." Before leaving, and most of the others simply ignored him, although a few managed a nod.

Percy sighed a little inwardly as he walked towards his tent. _It'll be a while before they'll even consider not keeping every interaction with me as short as possible._

Percy smiled fondly as he remembered the light hug Zoe had given him earlier on the beach, even if it was given only out of sympathy. OUT OF SYMPATHY, he was sure to reiterate to himself, not that his mind was going anywhere with that train of thought to begin with. Or so he convinced himself.

He lay in his tent, staring up at the silver ceiling thinking about Annabeth, and the affectionate "Seaweed Brain" she used to call him. A few tears fell when he reminisced upon his numerous memories, and the kisses they'd shared, he thought they'd be together for the rest of their lives. _Clearly she didn't agree with that sentiment._ He thought bitterly. _I guess the times she said she loved me were all lies after all._ More tears fell, and soon they came out in an unending stream, because once he started on that path, that inevitably led to more memories, and more memories on top of those. There came a light knock on his door in the middle of his silent tears, and he hurriedly wiped them off and sat up, and called in a false cheerful tone (or at least as best he could), "Give me a second!". The person outside completely ignored his statement and came in anyways, and it was evident that he'd been crying.

"What? I thought I said to give me a moment." He said, tone now free of any pretense as soon as he recognized that it was Thalia who'd come in.

"I just thought I'd let you know that you don't need to hide it by yourself you know? If you need a shoulder to cry on, you could always do so on Zoe's, I'm sure she'd be willing to if she saw it, or mine. We're friends after all, and that's what friends are for." She said, gently but firmly trying to push him so that he wouldn't seclude himself.

"Hmmph." Percy noncommittally grunted.

"Fine, be that way, but stop moping about and get to bed. Some sleep'll help, and you need the extra energy for tomorrow. Oh and I'll have you know you can't hide these things from me. Any person with feelings would be in the same spot you are if they'd lost what you lost. Now good night," She said, closing the tent flap as she saw Percy nod in acknowledgement.

 _I'm glad I have such a supportive group of friends..._ Percy thought before slowly drifting off to sleep.

The tent's ceiling had been enchanted to show a mural of the stars. _It's been a while since I've had time to enjoy the stars like this._ Percy thought, drifting off to sleep.

A loud knock and a glaring stream of sunlight on his face awakened him. Groaning, he turned over, trying to recover his peaceful sleep.

"Get up, Percy." Zoe greeted, stifling a yawn herself.

"Nnngghh" Percy groaned, "You're tired yourself Why don't you just go back to sleep?"

"Percy, it's time to get up" Zoe said patiently.

"No, it's not." Percy said, turning over to avoid the light continuing in.

"Yes, it is." Zoe said, entering the tent and tugging on his arm.

Percy grumbled and refused to let his arm be pulled out, stubbornly trying to keep it at this side. Zoe rolled her eyes and used both arms to pull on him.

"Get up, Percyy!" She said between gritted teeth.

"Only if you say the magic word." Percy said in a sing-song voice.

Zoe sighed and stopped pulling, "Please."

She was then utterly shocked when Percy pulled down on her, bringing her down on top of him, coincidentally landing her so that she looked as though she were straddling him.

Zoe yelled in a strangled shriek as her face heated up crimson and ran out of the tent.

Percy sat up, mind now very awake and alert. _Why did I do that!? I'm so stupid!_ Shaking his head lightly to clear his thoughts, he got pushed the blankets off him and changed, planning on apologizing to Zoe. But while he was changing, shirt half-on, Artemis walked in, getting a good view of Percy's upper body before blushing and promptly making an about face outside.

Percy, blinking a few times to process what just happened before putting on his shirt, exited the tent, finding Artemis waiting just outside, still with her cheeks tinged red.

"Sorry for just barging in like that, I should've knocked. I forgot my manners for a moment." Artemis said.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine." Percy replied. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Artemis took in a deep breath, and then took both of his hands, before quietly saying, "I just wanted to know why Annabeth would do that to you. I was wondering if there was anything I should consider before expressing my opinion on the matter to the other Olympians today when we go to Olympus."

Percy stood in silence for a moment, pain clearly running across his face before it settled down. He replied in a monotone voice, "I was just as surprised as anyone. Hades seemed to know about it before I did, as he teleported us a mile from camp to where the thing was happening. Last time I saw her, or before I left on the mission, she was acting normally. Her behavior never changed, and I didn't even get a vague feeling that she might've changed her mind about me. I would've accepted it if she'd told me, even if it had seemed abrupt, but her deception I could not accept." Percy fell silent, his expression not wavering from cold indifference.

Artemis stepped forward and gave him a light embrace, whispering with barely controlled anger, "I will make sure that she pays for her dishonor."

"No, no, don't bother yourself on my behalf. In fact, just leave her be. I certainly lost my feelings for her, but I still don't want to see her hurt, even after what she did." Percy said with the same forced indifference.

"Are you sure?" Artemis asked incredulously.

Percy nodded. "I consider this to be the last friendly gesture I shall make towards her if she does not attempt to make amends."

"I see how your fatal flaw is loyalty. But if you wish to not punish her, that's your own business and I won't interfere. But, just letting you know, if you ever change your mind, and want me to help, I'd be glad to help." Artemis said seriously.

"Thank you, Artemis." Percy said, a bit of warmth entering his tone.

Artemis nodded and broke away, heading back to the breakfast table, which was slowly being filled by hunters trickling in from their tents.

Percy sighed, his mind a mixture of happiness and pain from having his recent scars be reopened. _That was... nice of her._

He found Zoe glaring at him across the table, her cheeks still tinged red from their encounter. She was not the only one of the hunters glaring at him, though most just looked a bit confused as to why Zoe was glaring, some of them clearly asking her about it, glancing between the two.

He sighed, but steeled his resolve and walked over to her. "Sorry. I should've gotten up quicker. I'll make sure to listen to you the first time next time." Percy said.

Zoe raised an eyebrow, but looking around decided to help him out, "Ok. But there shouldn't be a next time in the first place. Get up yourself or you'll just have to skip breakfast." Zoe said, annoyance leaking into her voice.

Percy breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, heading back for a seat a bit farther from the Hunters, to let her explain to the others in privacy.

After finishing breakfast, they all teleported to Olympus, Artemis leaving to assume her throne, while the Hunters stood beside her, and Percy kneeling before the rest of the Olympians in the center of the room.

"Hades has informed me of the situation, but I would like to understand from your firsthand experience what has happened here. And I see that you found that titan spawn. Why have you brought her here?" Zeus boomed.

"She is no titan spawn. She of all would hate her father, after all, have you forgotten who killed her in the first place? You were also informed by Ouranos that she was allowed to return to the world in spirit form. But what was most atrocious was that you left her to be paralyzed, certainly hoping that something with less than decent intentions would come along and defile her. And indeed, your plan worked, as she was chained up by those who caused the disturbance in the first place. You would be PLEASED to see her be raped, and then forget all about her!" Percy said, getting angrier with every sentence he said.

Zeus was shrinking farther and farther into her chair, with the glares from the other gods intensifying (mostly Artemis). Even Dionysus raised a noncommittal eyebrow at Zeus' stupidity.

"Ah, now that you mention it I do recall something like that being said." Zeus said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"So now you recall?" Artemis asked in a dangerously quiet voice. "Now you recall nearly ruining and killing one of my former hunters, just because of your faulty memory? Interesting." Her cold glare never softened. "You've done many a stupid thing, but this is one too many. You did bring her back, and I suppose I will take that into account when the rest of the Olympians and I make a decision on your fate."

Zeus shrank back into his throne in fear, clearly very subdued. Hera then coughed, and said, "Yes, he will be punished very severely. But in the meantime let us hear this hero's report, and then send him on his way."

Artemis frowned at the dismissive attitude Hera took towards Percy, but tolerated it, looking at Percy expectantly. Apollo sat back in his chair _,_ still looking at his sister appraisingly. _Intriguing…Artemis is fonder of him. Maybe sympathetic? Something must've happened._

Percy gave another glare at Zeus, before continuing, "Well, after I ventured into the Underworld, I found a rip in the Underworld. It gave quite an uneasy feeling, but it was peaceful, and not the source of the disturbance. I continued further, and into a room where Zoe was captured. I killed the guards, and allowed her to escape, but as we did, a horde of monsters began chasing us. Fortunately, we managed to return to the Underworld before they caught up, where Hades then dealt with them. And then…" Percy took a deep breath before continuing. "I was teleported back to about a mile outside of the camp, where I happened to meet Artemis and her hunt, where they let me stay the night before coming here today."

Zeus nodded, feeling a bit more confident after being a given slight reprieve as the other Olympians turned their interest to this disturbance in the Underworld. "It seems that we should have Hades be present for this discussion to have his opinion on what exactly this means." He clapped his hands, and a mist portal opened to show Hades yawning on his throne in the Underworld.

"What is it now, brother." Hades greeted curtly, politely covering his mouth with a hand as he stifled his yawn, being made aware of his audience.

"Perseus has noted an ominous rip in the Underworld. I recommend that you examine it closer, as he does not seem to know what it is." Zeus said politely.

"Oh, is that so? I'll send some scouts to observe it." Hades replied lazily.

Zeus nodded and turned back to Percy grimly. "Now, we are left with the dilemma of what to do with the newly resurrected Titan spaw- I mean Zoe. She must be eliminated immediately. The dead should not be allowed to rise."

"After you wronged her so? I do not think that would be wise, Zeus. At the very least, she should be able to decide her own fate after your faulty memory incident." Artemis said sternly.

The other gods once again revisited their wrath on Zeus, who grumbled but acquiesced.

"I choose to stay in this world. I still would like to accompany the Hunt, even if I'm not a formal Hunter." Zoe said immediately.

Artemis smiled happily at her former Hunter. "And you will be very welcome to do that."

"So be it. And if there is no other business…?" Zeus asked expectantly.

"There is. I would like to take a leave of absence from Camp Half-Blood." Percy declared firmly.

Whooo! This chapter was getting way too long (3,000) words, so I decided to cut it short and leave it here, and I'll finish this scene later. Probably. I'm enjoying writing again, so expect (possibly) faster updates. Or at least updates faster than nearly a year-long hiatus. Oh and my other stories should also be updated soon.


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